The council asked the water company to attend one of its Flood and Land Drainage Working Party meetings, along with other interested parties including Devon County Council, to answer questions about flooding in the town.

However, despite giving the company a number of possible dates, SWW failed to arrange a meeting, angering councillors.

Councillor Eileen Wragg said: “I’m very disappointed that South West Water hasn’t got back to us. All the other partners were prepared to come along.”

Councillor Sandy MacQueen said: “Every household in Exmouth pays water rates, and yet we can’t get anyone [from South West Water] to come and speak to us. This is appalling.”

In response, a South West Water spokesman said: “The sewerage issues in Exmouth are complex and our engineers are working hard behind the scenes with our partners Devon County Council and the Environment Agency to fully understand the problems and identify the best long-term solution.

“We would like to finalise these investigations and our proposed solution before sharing them with the town council.

“We anticipate that we will be in a position to discuss our findings and proposed solutions next month.”